Derby, the state’s smallest city, has two elementary schools. The Irving School is on Garden Place, while the Bradley School is on David Humphreys Road.
Both schools house students in grade levels pre‑k through fifth grade. But that’s where many of the similarities stop.
Ever hear the phrase “achievement gap?” The elementary schools in Derby are the living embodiment.
In Derby, kids from poorer minority families are clustered in Irving, while non-minority kids from families earning more money attend Bradley, just two miles away.
Students at Bradley enjoy higher standardized test scores, smaller classes, more instructional time, less disciplinary problems and more family support than the students at Irving, according to a 65-page grant application Derby schools submitted to the state last year.
The configuration creates a “good school, bad school,” perception in Derby and reinforces the notion there are two Derbys — west side Derby, home to Irving, high-density housing in an urban core and single-family homes of rapidly declining value; and east side Derby, home to more valuable single-family homes, the Route 34 commercial corridor and a better elementary school for the city’s youngest kids.
Reorganization?
The disparate situation could be changing.
The Derby Board of Education is considering whether to reorganize the Bradley and Irving elementary schools as part of a larger effort to improve schools in Derby, which has been identified by the state Department of Education as one of the lowest-performing districts in Connecticut.
A proposal on the table — and school officials are practically jumping out of their chairs to stress it’s just a proposal at this point — is to convert Bradley into a pre‑K to second-grade school.
Irving would become a grade three through five school.
The proposal also calls for a possible expansion of Bradley so it could serve as the city’s only elementary school — but that’s a little down the road.
A subcommittee of the Derby Board of Education has been examining the issue for about two years. Click here to read a Valley Indy story from 2011.
As Derby’s demographics change, a new configuration that groups all the first-graders in Derby with all the first-grade teachers could make for better learning, Derby school board president Ken Marcucio, Sr. said.
“It would be nice if we’re able to fit all the students in one building,” said Marcucio, a retired teacher. “It would be easier to make sure they are all getting the same academic program and services, to track progress, and to evaluated by the same principal.”
The school board has scheduled two parent forums to discuss the idea.
The first forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 at the Bradley School.
The second parent forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Irving School.
It’s Not A Done Deal
School district officials are urging parents to attend so they can learn about the idea direct from the source. School officials will answer questions about the proposal and want to hear what parents think, said Matthew Conway, Derby Public Schools superintendent.
The pros and cons of the realignment are still being tallied, Conway said, so feedback from parents is crucial.
“While there are many advantages to that particular model for this particular district, I want to hear from parents and community members,” Conway said. “What are their thoughts on the process? It’s also an opportunity for parents to hear about the advantages and or disadvantages we might face if we were to move forward.”
Irving vs. Bradley
The two schools are just 2 miles apart, but the gap between students at Irving and Bradley is wide — and it is growing.
In 2012, Derby Public Schools submitted an application to receive “Alliance District” money from the state. It’s extra state money targeted toward the most problematic school districts in Connecticut.
A full copy of the approved application is posted at the end of this article.
The application clearly explained the differences between the city’s two elementary schools.
Among the data:
- 67 percent of the students at Irving qualified for free or reduced lunches, compared to 23 percent at Bradley.
- The majority of Derby’s low-income students and dual-language learners attend Irving.
- During the 2009 – 2010 school year there were 14 “incidents” (fights, verbal confrontations) at the Irving School compared to two “incidents” at Bradley (which had to do with simple school policy violations).
- There were 42 reported “incidents” at Irving during the 2008 – 2009 school year.
- In 2009 – 2010, Irving students had 975 hours of instructional time, compared to 1,010 hours at Bradley.
- Just 55 percent of Irving School students went to preschool, compared to 93 percent of Bradley students.
- The 2011 release of fourth-grade reading test scores showed just 31.6 percent of Derby’s low-income students scoring “at or above grade level,” compared to 68 percent of non-low income kids.
- Classes at Bradley are smaller, with typically five to six less students than classes at Irving.
And the district “report cards” maintained by ConnCAN, an education reform group, show:
Of Irving’s 419 students in 2012 – 2013:
- 57.8 percent were minority
- 68.7 percent were low income
Of Bradley’s 343 students in 2012 – 2013:
- 31.2 percent were minority
- 38.8 percent were low income
Closing The Achievement Gap
The data makes obvious the achievement gap between the “haves” and “have nots” within the two elementary schools.
But school officials have not been ignoring the subject.
Jennifer Olson, Irving School’s principal, is in her second year and has been working with parents and staff to turn things around within her building. The stats cited in this story predate her arrival.
Click here for a series of stories the Valley Indy has published chronicling efforts to improve the school.
There’s also a wholesale change underway in the way kids are taught.
And the Derby Board of Education adopted a strategic plan in September 2011. The plan outlined a bunch of steps to be taken to improve the schools.
Among the chief objectives — eliminate the achievement gap by 2016.
A Change For The Greater Good?
As part of that effort, an “organizational efficiency committee” was created within the school district.
The committee created a draft report, which is posted below, which indicates the reconfiguration could improve student learning throughout Derby.
The report notes that Bradley and Irving kids eventually wind up in the same place — Derby Middle School — after years in “very different schools.”
From the report:
“ … if certain grade levels were focused in fewer schools rather than being spread across two schools, class sizes could be more consistent, there could be new opportunities for teacher collaboration, as well as the following:
- Grouping and regrouping
- Teachers together (grades, subjects, specialists, programs)
- Alignment of curriculum goals and strategies
- Race, class, language differentials addressed
- Optimize resources (efficient staffing, equalized class size)
- Expenditure efficiencies (furniture, texts, etc.)
- Shared experiences”
“The current configuration creates a division in our community that impacts District support by the families and the community in general, and that promotes racial, ethnic and economic polarization,” the draft report concludes.
And, while Irving is clearly the most challenged elementary school in Derby, students at Bradley are also not performing at the level they should be, according to state tests.
Restructuring the grades in Derby may help all kids — not just subgroups within Irving.
Other positive outcomes from such a change, according to the draft report:
- Achieve a greater economic and ethnic balance within the district
- Support the district’s improvement plan to “improve student outcomes”
- Increase students’ and parents’ sense of community and stability
- Make it easier to better match teachers and students
- Give teachers and administrators a more unified approach to teaching
The draft report is posted below. The article continues after the document.
Proposal for Elementary School Configuration Change
School officials were somewhat hesitant to talk about the recommendation this week, indicating they wanted to talk to parents directly during the upcoming forums.
“The proposed reconfiguration that will be discussed with the community was developed as a result of looking at efficient, effective education for our children,” said Connie Condon, of Diversified NonProfit Services, Inc. She has been helping to facilitate the subcommittee’s work.
The aforementioned Alliance District grant application also stated Derby school officials would study whether a reconfiguration of the district’s two elementary schools would improve the struggling district.
A pre‑k to second grade Bradley and a third grade through fifth grade Irving could allow the district “to better target resources and strategies to improve student outcomes and to improve community support for all schools in Derby,” according to the grant application.
“While not finalized or without controversy” the potential change could result in greater achievement in early grades, contributing to overall successful outcomes for our students, according to the grant application.
Controversy?
Whether the idea will generate controversy in Derby remains to be seen. But it’s a major change in a community that prides itself on tradition.
In Derby, opposition could come — possibly — from parents at Bradley, where students have it pretty good, comparatively.
But Chantal Gerkens, a Bradley School parent who is active in the community at large, said parents haven’t been given enough information yet on which to base an opinion.
They certainly have questions, though, and those questions will be asked at the upcoming forum for parents, Gerckens said.
Stacey Whelan, of the Irving School Parent Teacher Organization, said it’s hard to imagine opposition to the idea — especially given the disparity between the schools.
“It’s what needs to be done,” Whelan said. “It’s a small town. Why such a small town has two schools for elementary is beyond me.”
On the other hand, Whelan said parents are extremely happy with the efforts of Irving principal Olson, currently in her second year on the job.
“I think thanks to her at this point we have more access to technology like “Smart” boards and iPads than Bradley,” Whelan said. “But I don’t think she should have to work that hard for Irving. Everybody deserves a fair education. If a realignment is going to help kids learn, why not do it?”
The Valley Indy left a message for the Derby teachers’ union but did not hear back.
The Valley Indy has twice asked Derby residents via Facebook as to why such a small city even has two elementary schools.
Invariably, longtime Derby residents point out that the configuration grew out of “neighborhood schools,” a system that died years ago.
“We always had the neighborhood school concept. Lincoln School was a third school, Franklin School was a fourth school way back when. But that was when we had more kids and more money,” Marcucio, the school board president, said in an interview.
Conway said he took steps in recent months to make sure the good — and the potential bad — of any realignment is considered as Derby studies the issue.
“Right now these are recommendations that came out of an organizational structure committee,” Conway said. “Until it is fully vetted it’s simply that — a recommendation.”
Realignment Could Make Sense
Derby’s achievement gap is a microcosm of Connecticut, the state with the largest achievement gap in the U.S., said Jennifer Alexander, CEO of ConnCANN, an education reform advocacy group.
Alexander credited the district for taking steps to address the problem, including the use of a well-respected literacy program, as outlined in the district’s Alliance District grant application.
“It sounds like Derby is taking steps to fix this,” Alexander said. “They’ve (established) an early-learning literacy program (and) an extended learning tutoring program through their Alliance District funding. I think those are promising steps.”
The district’s realignment could make sense, but school officials will have to show parents the research to support the specific grade reconfiguration, Alexander said
“For lots of kids in Connecticut, the school they have to attend because of where they live isn’t a good school. We believe that every kid in Connecticut should have access to a high-quality school regardless of race, wealth or zip code,” she said.
The district’s Alliance District grant is posted below:
